Over the past eleven years we've read hundreds of
books about Costa Rica. The best are described, recommended and
categorized here in the book shop. All of the books are available
through Amazon, most through Barnes&Noble, and if we've found
a lower price elsewhere we'll tell you about that too.

COLLECTIONS
If you're in a hurry, see the collections that include everything you'll need
for your travels in Costa Rica: a guidebook, map, Spanish phrasebook, and
suggested leisure reading from fiction to essays about the rainforest.

Each book comes with a recommendation
of zero to five toucans, for example, three and a half toucans would
be a recommended book, four highly recommended, and five...
don't leave for Costa Rica without it.

Nearly all the books have ratings higher than three toucans.
We didn't over-rate every book we simply chose to be positive
and include only the best available choices. There are
a few exceptions when
we've warned you away from a particularly
bad
book.

Costa Rica Guidebooks
A guidebook is a necessity for independent travel, fun to have when you're
on a group tour, and the wrong one can literally leave you out in cold. After
bicycling thousands of miles in Costa Rica we've come to respect all aspects
of guides, from how fast it can get you out of the rain and into a comfortable
room with a beautiful view to how good the bocas are at the bars it recommends.

Field Guides to the Birds and Wildlife of
Costa Rica
Most travelers to Costa Rica are interested in the ecology and
while it's no substitute for a good human guide, a good field
guide will help you discover the natural wonders of Costa Rica.

Spanish Language & Phrase books for Costa
Rica Travel
In suburban areas some English is spoken, and Costa Rica has a
diverse European population, but some rudimentary Spanish is
very handy. Your two semesters in high school will probably
serve just fine, but these books specialize in some of the usages
and
words peculiar to Costa Rica.

Leisure ReadingIt's fun to read a short fiction piece or a well written essay
about the country you're traveling through, but these books are hard
to come by in English. If you are fluent in Spanish, just stop at la
librería for a wide selection. If not try these

Natural History
Daniel Janzen says in his introduction to Costa Rican Natural History "I
shudder to think that book might become a definitive statement about
Costa Rican natural history. It is neither that nor a thorough review
on the literature on the subject." Fortunately, as editor, he created
the de facto "Bible of Costa RIcan Natural History" anyway.